Italy Greatest All-Time Team between 1938 and 1982

Italy won back-to-back World Cups in the 1930's, but waited another 44 years to win it again in 1982. Between those years, Italy has ups and downs. Before 1968, Italy failed to advance further than the first round in the World Cup Finals. In 1968, Italy won the European Championship and two years later, they reached the Final before losing to Brazil at Mexico 1970.This is my selection of Italy All-Time Team between their World Cup glories in 1939 and 1982. The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.

World Cup 1970

TeamGK: Enrico Albertosi He was one of the best keepers in his generations. He played with Fiorentina that won Cup Winners' Cup in 1961. Then, he moved to Calgary in 1968, where he played with Luigi Riva and won a scudetti with Caligari in 1970. He later transferred to A.C. Milan in 1974, where he won yet another Serie A title and Coppa Italia. For Azzurri, he was a part of Italy's European Championship team in 1968. He went to the both 1966 and 1970 World Cup Finals.

Enrico Albertosi

GK: Lorenzo BuffonBuffon was one of the best keepers in the 1950's and early 1960's. He helped AC Milan to reach the Final of the 1958 European Cup Final. He also played for Genoa C.F.C. (1959–60), F.C. Internazionale Milano (1960–63), and ACF Fiorentina (1963–64). His cousin is Gianluigi Buffon's Grandfather. He had 15 caps and went to the 1962 World Cup Finals.

GK: Giuliano Sarti Sarti had done well in European football. In 1960-61, he helped Fiorentina to win the Cup Winners' Cup. In 1963, he joined Inter Milan and became the starting keeper of La Grande Inter under Helenio Herrera. He won two European Cup with them. He only had 8 caps with the national team.

RB: Tarcisio BurgnichThroughout his career, Burgnich played for Udinese, Juventus, Palermo, Internazionale, and Napoli; although he won titles with both Juventus and Napoli, he is best known for his time with Inter Milan, where he was a member of manager Helenio Herrera's Grande Inter side. He also participated and won the Euro 1968 with Italy. RB/CB: Ardico Magnini Magnini was a great defender for Fiorentina during the 1950's. He won the scudetto in 1956. He was a main player for Italy as well. He went to the 1954 WC Finals.

Ardico Magnini

RB/SW: Cesare Maldini Cesare spent 12 seasons with AC Milan. He was the captain of the 1963 European Cup winning team. He picked up 14 caps for Italy. After retirement, he became a successful coach. his son is Paolo Maldini.CB: Roberto Rosato Rosato played for 15 seasons in the Serie A for A.C. Torino, A.C. Milan, Genoa and Aosta before officially retiring in 1979. He is mostly remembered for his highly successful period with Milan, where he won 1 Serie A A title, 3 Coppa Italia titles, 1969 European Cup, 2 European Super Cups, and 1 Intercontinental Cup.SW: Armando PicchiHe was the captain of La Garnde Inter. The team was transformed when Helenio Herrera moved him to the libero position during the 1961-1962 season and a legendary team was born. He was often credited of changing how the position was played. He was capped 12 times by the Azzurri, but he was left out of the 1966 World Cup team and an injury prevented him from playing at the European Championship of 1968, in which Italy won.

CB: Aristide GuarneriGuarneri made his professional debut for Como in 1957, also playing for Internazionale, Bologna, Napoli, and ending his career with Cremonese 1973. He most notably player for the Inter Milan team known as La Grande Inter, between 1958 and 1967. He was part of Inter's European Cup victories in 1964 and 1965. Capped 21 times. He went to England 1966 and was a part of Euro 1968 winning team.LB: Giacinto FacchettiUntil
the emerge of Paolo Maldini, Facchetti was considered to be Italy's
greatest left back. He spent his entire career with Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He was
the star wingback of La Grande Inter where they won back-to-back
European Cups in the 1960's. He was capped 94 times and also won the
Euro 1968 with Italy. He played in 1966, 1970 and 1974 World Cup Finals.

Giacinto Facchetti

LB: Sergio CervatoCervato started with F.C. Bolzano, but known for his career with Fiorentina. He won the scudetti with Fiorentina in 1955-56 as their captain where they only lost one match. The club finished as runners-up for the next four consecutive years in 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960. They reached the 1957 European Cup Final the following season. He joined Juventus and spent two seasons there, winning two more scudetti. He played 28 times for Italy. He participated at the 1954 World Cup Finals.DM: Romeo BenettiAt international level, he represented the Italy national football team on 55 occasions between 1971 and 1980, and took part at the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 1980, achieving fourth-place finishes in the latter two tournaments.He is best remembered for his 5 seasons with AC Milan, winning a Cup Winners' Cup.

Romeo Benetti

DM: Giancarlo Di Sisti Di Sisti was known for his two stints with Roma and 9 seasons with Fiorentina in between. He helped Fiorentina winning the 1968-69 scudetto. At international level, De Sisti earned 29 caps and scored 4 goals for the Italy national football team between 1967 and 1972, making his debut on 1 November 1967, in a 5–0 home win over Cyprus in a UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying match. He later played in the European championship-winning team at Euro 1968 on home soil.CM/DM: Aldo CampatelliCampatelli made his debut with Inter Milan at the age of 17 in 1939. He played with them until 1950. From 1950 to 1953, he played with Bologna. He won two Serie A titles with Inter Milan. He was capped 7 times and a member of the 1950 World Cup team.RW: Angelo DomenghiniHe began his professional career with Atalanta in 1960. He then moved to Internazionale in 1964, and was a member of manager Helenio Herrera's highly successful "Grande Inter" squad. He was capped on 33 occasions for Italy, scoring 8 goals for his country between 1963 and 1972. He represented Italy at UEFA Euro 1968 on home soil, and he notably scored the equaliser in the 80th minute against Yugoslavia in the Final. Italy then went on to win the replay 2–0, which allowed them to win their first ever European Championship title. He later went on to take part in the 1970 World Cup. LW: Mario CorsoHe was one of the greatest Italian wingers. Nicknamed "God's Left Foot", he was a part of La Grande Inter. Except for two seasons at the end of his career, he played his entire career with Inter Milan. He earned 23 caps, but never selected for any major tournament.

CM/AM: Gianni RiveraItaly's "Golden Boy" of the 1960's. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1969. He led AC Milan to win two European Cups in 1963 and 1969. He was capped 63 times scoring 15 goals, at four World Cups (1962, 1966, 1970, and 1974). Rivera is remembered for scoring the decisive goal in Italy's extra-time win over West Germany in the semi-final of Mexico 1970.

Gianni Rivera

CM/AM: Sandro MazzolaHe was a part of Inter Milan's "La Grande Inter". He won four Serie A titles (1963, 1965, 1966 and 1971), two European Cups (1964 and 1965) and two Intercontinental Cups (1964 and 1965). He won the Euro 1968 with the Azzurri and led them to the WC Finals in 1970. During his career, he was known for sharing the starting position with AC Milan's Gianni Rivera on the national team. His father was Valentino Mazzola who died when Sandro was 7 years old.

He was the best player in the world during the 1940's. He was the captain and symbol of the "Grande Torino", the team recognised as one of the strongest in the world during the second half of the 1940s, with whom Mazzola won five Serie A championships. His career, however, was limited by the War. He never played in the World Cup. His life was cut short by the Superga Air Disaster in 1949. He was Sandro's father.

RW/FW: Giampiero BonipertiBoniperti
played his entire career with Juventus. He was the highest goalscorer
in Juventus' history for more than 40 years, until his record was bested
by Alessandro Del Piero. He went to the WC Finals in 1950 and 1954. He
was capped 38 times and served as captain 24 times.

Gabetto began his career with Juventus in 1934, scoring 102 goals for the club in seven seasons. ln 1941 he was acquired by local rivals Torino, for a notable sum of 330,000 Lit. Aside from goalkeeper Alfredo Bodoira, he is the only player to win the Italian championship with both Torino F.C. and cross-city rivals Juventus F.C.

He was a star player in the great Italian side of the 1970's. He was a key player as Italy reached the WC Final in 1970. He scored Italy's lone goal at the Final. He also played in the World Cup Finals in 1974, but was overlooked for the European Championship in 1968. For his club career, his best years were with Inter Milan, where he won a singel scudetto. In 1976, he joined Juventus, winning two more scudetto,an Italian Cup and an UEFA Cup.

He was the all-time leading scorer for the Italy. At international level, Riva won the 1968 UEFA European Championship and was runner-up at the 1970 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team; he also took part at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. With 35 goals in 42 appearances (in all official competitions) between 1965 and 1974. He was Serie A top scorer for three seasons. He was probably the best ever player at Cagliari, leading them to win their only scudetti in 1969-1970.

-- Giacinto Facchetti, Romeo Benetti, Gianni Rivera, Sandro Mazzola, Valentino Mazzola and Luigi Riva are the only players on my Italy All Time Team.-- Most of the players came from the Euro 1968 winning team.

-- Roberto Bettega belonged to the generation of the 1982 World Cup, despite not playing in it. The same applied to Paolo Pulici.

-- Omar Sivori, Humberto Maschio and Antonio Angelillo only played a handful matches for Italy. They were not seriously considered.FormationExcept Benetti and Boniperti, every starter came from the late 1960's and early 1970's generation. In real life, Italy did not play Rivera and Sandro Mazzola on the same field.